Travelogue, Day 3: Helsinki to Turku

While I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to spend much time in Helsinki, touring changes a lot when you have a little guy in tow, so I’m pleased that we’ll be staying put for a few days in Turku.

Little guy is already on a European sleep schedule, it seems… he’s outsleeping both Christian and I, which is ridiculous, since pre-baby we would both have preferred not to awaken before noon. Anyhow, he slept for a good portion of the morning, allowing us to repack all sorts of stuff (and get rid of one suitcase, a crappy one we’d brought along just to deal with the new reduced weight limits on transatlantic flights – you used to be able to fly with 75 lbs per suitcase (and it used to be two suitcases in economy), but now it’s down to one 50 lb. suitcase per person, and we really only wanted one suitcase. We were about 7 pounds over on it, so out came the crappy suitcase, which made Christian miserable walking with it. (One of us has to push the baby, so it leaves the other person with all the luggage)

Torsten took his first real distance train trip yesterday, and loooooved it. Of course, it helps that the Finns go out of their way, like most Scandinavian states, to provide for children. Our train car had special places for baby carriages, a fold-out changing table and bottle-warmer in the bathroom, and – you won’t believe this – a playroom with books and a slide and all sorts of stuff upstairs. (I didn’t see the latter, as I was spaced out in my seat for most of the ride, watching the world go by (and I was a little grumpy – sorry, C)) Apparently, T had a grand old time playing, and picked up another girlfriend, who he promptly ignored.

Seriously, I know I’m his Mama, but the girls just can’t stay away, and he charms them all. What am I gonna do when he’s 16??? I mean, even frowny Finnish old ladies see him and try to tickle his feet on the bus.

Our little boy makes people smile. And I guess that’s a pretty wonderful gift he’s got there.

Anyhow, so the train ride was two hours, and quite fast and comfortable. The Finnish countryside between Helsinki and Turku is mostly rolling hills, lots of wonderful trees, and farmhouses, and it’s really quite pretty in a pastoral way. I tried to take a few pictures, but 1) I was sitting on the wrong side of the train for the best view, and 2) pictures from trains, like pictures inside churches, never turn out well.

We arrived in Turku about two in the afternoon, a couple of hours before we’d intended to arrive – we made good time checking out of our hostel in Helsinki – and then had to set out on our quest to find the bus to the hostel. I had directions on which buses to take, but I have to admit, as far as giving out directions go, they were lacking. Fortunately, most younger Finns speak English and have been surprisingly helpful, so we were eventually able to get out to our hostel, which is about four kilometers from the city center and in a nice, wooded area. The view from our hostel window is far better than that from our Helsinki hostel (a construction site where they were remodeling the hostel) – lots of trees and some rocks and wildflowers, right in front of our window. It’s quiet and pleasant, and I think will be a nice place to spend a week.

The hostel we’re staying at is, during the rest of the year, dorms for a Christian folk high school – a sort of vocational school for religious studies, as best I understand it. The rooms are quite comfortable, and it’s very clean and nice, so it’s all good. Admittedly, I’ve only ever had one really bad hostel experience – a youth hostel in Paris which was so icky I ended up in a hotel for a night instead of completing my stay there (trust me when I say I’m not that picky) – but some places are better than others, and this is just fine. The nature is lovely, there’s space for Torsten, we have access to a kitchen of sorts, and bus service to town is good.

Disappointingly, I crashed a couple of hours after we got here. Some of it’s jet-lag, and some of it is something else that’s going on with me that should pass soon, but it’s annoying. Christian graciously took Mr. T out to explore the city a bit, and I got about 3 hours of desperately needed sleep (I was so tired I was starting to see things, something that hasn’t happened to me since grad school…). Then we set up the room so that T had a place to sleep, and the three of us crashed pretty early.

Anyhow, Christian’s conference starts tomorrow (and his talk is tomorrow), so Torsten and I will be on our own to relax and explore. Should be fun, if I can stay awake…